Australian universities face a huge revenue hit from falling international student numbers due to COVID-19 and tensions with China. Some institutions should consider merging rather than downsizing.
Unlike the US, Australia hasn’t yet been hit by a large-scale disinformation campaign focussed on meddling with elections. But this is a ‘realistic prospect’ moving forward.
Scott Morrison has made a diplomatic blunder in leading the push for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus. There is much at stake, and he now needs to find a diplomatic way out.
Despite veiled threats from the Chinese government, and the desire in some parts of the Australian community for a split, China and Australia need each other.
Australian city councils appreciate the social and educational benefits of having Chinese sister cities. Gaining new markets and attracting tourists and investment have proved more challenging.
Launching journalist Peter Hartcher’s Quarterly Essay, Red Flag: Waking up to China’s challenge, Rudd said “we have become too China-dependent. We need to diversify further”.
Amid debate about China’s refusal of visa to two federal MPs, former PM Paul Keating denounced the media for ‘failing to present a balanced picture of the rise, legitimacy and importance of China’.
Morrison stressed “that we will never feel corralled into any sort of binary assessment of these relationships” - assessments that said “pro-United States or pro-China”.
Focusing on China policy in a Monday address - released ahead of delivery - Penny Wong says Australia needs to ‘define the boundaries’ of its engagement with China as the relationship is in a new phase.
In its mirroring of the US position, the government is indicating it believes China needs to have its wings clipped, while Labor has taken a different view.
During his week in the United States, the PM tied himself to Trump to a remarkable degree. Though, the Washington days were better than later appearances, which saw Morrison open the China debate.
Anthony Albanese has attacked Scott Morrison for sending a message to Beijing while in the United State, opening a partisan rift at a time when Australia-China relations are at a low point.
Amid the glamour and glitter and the mutually admiring exchanges between Donald Trump and Morrison, China and Iran were the central policy issues of interest during the PM’s Washington trip.
Following a politically disastrous interview, Liberal MP Gladys Liu has issued a statement strongly proclaiming her loyalty to Australia and her support for the government’s policy on China.
In an address to the Lowy Institute, outgoing ASIO head Duncan Lewis warned that “the scale and scope of foreign intelligence activity against Australian interests is unprecedented”.
Michelle Grattan discusses the increasing strain on the Australia-China relationship following the arrest of Dr. Yang Hengjun, and the government’s draft religious discrimination legislation.
Honorary Professor, School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, Canada; Adjunct Fellow, Olympic Scholar and Co-Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Research Centre, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University